Verizon HomeFusion provides wireless broadband in the home

Verizon Wireless has a new service, which is intended to provide rural homes with wireless broadband. The service is pitched as an alternative to satellite Internet service or for homes don’t have access to DSL or other services. The new service is called HomeFusion, and it places an antenna inside what appears to be a 5-gallon bucket on the outside of the home to provide connectivity to the entire house.

The external antenna cost $200 and installation work is free. The service starts at $60 a month and provides a mere 10 GB of data for the entire home. Verizon spins that 10 GB data allotment well enough noting that you could watch 10 hours of HD quality video or download the complete works of Shakespeare 2000 times with that much bandwidth. Anyone who enjoys Netflix or other streaming video services will blow through 10 GB in very short order on a single TV. Toss in some online gamers and what you have is a mix for huge overage fees.

Perhaps the 5-gallon bucket over the top the antenna is to hold all the loot Verizon stands to make in overage fees. The service will roll out initially in Dallas, Nashville, and Birmingham later this month. Verizon hopes to be able to provide the service everywhere this year. This may be the only option for some people to get broadband, just watch out for those overage fees that can grow very quickly. There is also a $90 monthly plan that provides 20 GB of data and $120 monthly plan with 30 GB of data. If you run over by a single gigabyte and you will need to cough up an extra $10.